Metal Soul's Insanity
by ToastWeaselofDOOM
Summary: A Steampunk/Soul Eater crossover. Horror, Adventure, Mystery. The good ship Shibusen's mission is to defeat the insanity... too bad the Arachnephobia Pirate's won't have it.
1. Chapter 1

_**A Steampunk/Soul Eater crossover.**_

**A/N:** It starts off with a bang! It's gonna have horror, adventure, betrayal, etc. Lots and lots of awesome stuff! I hope everyone enjoys this story! Please tell me what you think!

**MY FIRST AND LAST DISCLAIMER.**

Soul Eater (C) Ohkubo  
Metal Soul's Insanity (c) ToastWeaselofDOOM  
Crossposted on devianart.

* * *

Chapter 1

"_Arachnophobia_ off the port side! All hands to battle stations! Let's go, let's go, let's go!"

Red eyes snapped open and Soul Eater Evans rolled out of his bunk. Beside him, Black*Star was already standing, his blue hair in total disarray. He flexed his muscles and yelled, "Yahoo! Let's beat us some baddies!" before racing up onto the deck, half-clothed.

"Not cool," Soul muttered, tying his headband and snapping his goggles on before heading topside. The crew of the Shibusen was spilling onto the main deck like a swarm of bees. Many already had their weapons clutched in their hands, looking determinedly at the sky-ship that was gaining fast on the port side.

Soul looked around for his own meister, Maka Albarn. He found her standing on the quarter deck with her father, the first mate aboard the _Shibusen_. He hurried up one of the staircases to the deck and called out, "Maka!"

She turned, green eyes relieved. "Soul!"

"Evans!" The teenager turned from his meister to her father. First Mate Albarn's cravat wasn't tied completely, and he looked frazzled. "You protect my Maka, you got that? You protect her with your life, you got that?"

Soul nodded and said, "Aye, sir" at the same time Maka yelped, "Who are you calling 'My Maka'?!"

Maka scowled deeply, then added, 'C'mon, Soul, let's go!" The teenager nodded and transformed into his scythe form, all gold and copper and black. Maka caught her partner and twirled him over her head.

Spirit looked at his daughter proudly. "Be careful, Maka," said her father and Soul at the same time.

"I will, Papa," Maka replied, just as an explosion sounded and a cannonball slammed into the Shibusen's reinforced hull, making the ship rock.

"Battle stations!" Spirit yelled at the deck below. "Load the cannons, ready the torches, prepare for boarding!"

"Maka, above you!" The teenaged girl looked up just in time to see something flying towards her. She raised Soul in a brace position, but the thing was shot out of the sky before it could reach her.

"Wha—?"

"Watch yourself, Albarn." Maka looked over to see Death the Kid, son of the _Shibusen_'s captain, standing on the stairs to the quarter deck. In his hands he held his weapons, twin steam- and wavelength-powered pistols the color of gold. The Thompson sisters.

"Maka!" The green-eyed girl turned and blocked the sword of her attacker. The wielder was a young teenager with choppy punk hair and pale grey eyes.

"Aaaaah, such strong eyes," the new enemy whimpered as Maka shot her opponent a glare. "I don't think I can deal with this!"

"Can you handle this, Albarn?"

Maka nodded. "Of course."

"I leave this to you." And Kid darted off to fight other invaders.

"Who are you?" Maka snapped.

"C-Crona . . . and my weapon is Ragnorak . . ." The teenager's expression changed, a grin spreading over the androgynous face. "And you're gonna die here!"

"We'll see about that! Let's go, Soul!" Crona darted forward, and Maka barely had time to block the sword that was swung towards her head.

"Strong," Maka hissed as she was pushed backwards. "Stronger than before."

"Maka, believe it or not, that hurt!" Soul growled as the blade began to cut into his shaft. "Fuck, that's my neck, you uncool bastard!" Hurriedly, Maka kicked away from Crona and swung Soul at her attacker.

Crona blocked easily and cackled. "Nice try, nice try, little bitch girl! But you can't touch me!" Before Maka could blink, she was being slammed into the wall of the ship. Soul clattered out of her hands and spun out of reach.

Crona grinned again and charged. The black blade whistled through the air and sliced through flesh.

As If by a signal, Crona stopped and the sword disappeared, reappearing as wings. "Hee hee, I killed you!" the teenager cackled before flying off, then returned to the _Arachnophobia_, as did the other invaders.

As fast as they came, they were gone, leaving a sobbing Maka to hold a dying Soul in her arms.

* * *

The ship's crew was gathered around Soul, who lay in the middle of the main deck. Nygus, the ship's nurse, was doing her best stop the bleeding from the deep gash. She wound snow-white bandages around the teenager's chest, talking quietly with Azusa, the ship's navigator.

"I can't do much more," the dark-skinned nurse murmured. "I don't have the equipment to be able to deal with this type of wound. Soul needs a doctor, a real one."

"I'll inform the captain," Azusa said crisply, standing and adjusting her glasses before crossing the ship, climbing the stairs to the quarter-deck, and disappearing into the bridge.

"Miss Nygus, will Soul be okay?" Nygus looked at Maka, who suddenly looked her age of barely fourteen compared to her normal, very mature disposition.

"It's impossible to say," Nygus replied. "Black*Star, Sid. Carry him down to the infirmary."

"No." Death the Kid shook his head from where he stood. "He can sleep in my room. It will be more comfortable for him."

"Very well." Black*Star and Sid, the grease-covered mechanic, carefully took their fallen comrade across the deck into Kid's private room. Tsubaki lead the sniffling Maka below for some tea and comfort in the galley.

Spirit crossed his arms as he watched his daughter disappear below deck, then barked, "Alright, everyone, back to work!" After everyone went back to their respective jobs, or back to bed in the case of some, the first mate climbed to the quarter deck and disappeared inside the bridge.

* * *

A/N: Crona is not going to have a gender this time! Designs are on my DA which is ToastWeaselofDOOM. ;D See you next chapter!


	2. Chapter 2

_**A Steampunk/Soul Eater crossover.**_

**A/N:** Next chapter! Yay! Thanks for all the positive reviews I got for this, I hope you enjoy the second chapter as much as the first!

Metal Soul's Insanity (c) ToastWeaselofDOOM  
Crossposted on deviantart.  
Beta'd by Desert(dot)Moon!

* * *

Chapter 2

Two days later, the _Shibusen_ descended from the sky and landed in the waters of the Pacific Ocean. They docked in the port of a small village in Australia in the dead of night. The next morning, Spirit led Maka and Death the Kid into town to begin to ask around for a doctor. They were pointed by an old man to the town tavern. The three _Shibusen_ crewmembers entered The Dead Mole.

"Let me do the talking," the First Mate whispered to the two teenagers as they advanced on the bar. Kid and Maka nodded wordlessly.

The burly barkeeper looked up from the blonde woman he was talking to as Spirit approached. "Can I . . . help you, sir?"

"I'm looking for the town doctor." Spirit leaned against the bar after shooting the blonde a killer smile. At the look the barkeep gave him, Spirit fished in his coin purse, pulling out several pieces of gold. Sliding the coins across the bar, _Shibusen_'s first mate asked, "Know where I can find 'im?"

"Yes," the burly man said, fiddling with the rolled-up sleeves of his dress shirt.

"Can you tell me where he lives?"

"Well . . ." The man looked at the woman he had been talking to. "No." Spirit wordlessly slid more coins across the bar. The barkeep looked as if he were about to pocket them when the woman spoke.

"BJ, for shame! You know as well as I do where Stein lives!" Spirit swiped his coins back and deposited them into his coin purse while the barkeep muttered something similar to "Can't help but try." Spirit turned to the blonde, whose hair was in pigtails and who wore a decorated eyepatch and dark red headband. She smiled and said, "You're looking for my meister, aren't you, sir? He's the doctor in this town."

Spirit once again flashed his killer smile. "Yes, ma'am. What's your name, Miss?"

"Marie Mjolnir. What do you need my meister for?"

"One of our crew is injured," Spirit replied. "My daughter's weapon." He nodded at Maka and all eyes went to her. She blushed a bit and tried to hide behind Kid.

Marie frowned. "How badly is he hurt?"

"It's not pretty."

She nodded. "Where is he, back on your ship?" Spirit answered her question with a nod. "Go retrieve him and I'll lead you to the doctor."

"Follow me." Spirit turned; Marie, Kid, and Maka followed him from the tavern.

* * *

Marie gasped when she saw the deep gash on Soul's torso. "Oh my . . . what happened?"

"We were attacked," Spirit said bitterly.

"Was he the only one hurt?"

"He's the worst. The rest only had scrapes, cuts, and bruises."

The blonde nodded, looking slightly shaken. She composed herself quickly before saying, "Alright, as soon as he's ready to be transported, I will take you to Stein." They waited as Nygus rewrapped Soul's chest with clean bandages before Sid scooped the teenager from the bed. The white-haired adolescent didn't move, didn't speak, didn't make a sound throughout the entire process.

Spirit, Nygus, Sid, and Marie departed Kid's room, Maka and Death the Kid trailing behind them. As Spirit walked down the gangway behind Sid, he called, "Maka, come with us. Kid, stay here."

"Yes, Sir," Kid said stiffly as Maka hurried after her father. When she joined the group at the bottom, Marie smiled at her.

"Follow me, please." The four crewmembers of _Shibusen_ followed her about a mile to the edge of town, when a dark-looking house stood under the mountain that overshadowed the small town. Marie pushed past the wrought-iron gate and led the four up the path and into the house.

Inside, they found a large lower level. Marie crossed to the opposite wall and the door set into it. She knocked and called, "Stein, there's a boy out here who's critical."

A rustling was heard behind the door and it began to open as a low, calm voice said, "Critical, you say?" The door opened completely and the doctor appeared. He was tall, with silver hair and a bolt through his head. A row of staples ran down his face from under silver bangs, down under his right eye, and out of sight across his cheek. A monocle rested on his nose and a pipe was clenched between his teeth. He took a drag from the pipe before lazily blowing a smoke ring. "How critical?"

Marie said, "Very"; at the same time, Spirit exclaimed, "You!" rather loudly.

Green eyes glanced over at the first mate of the _Shibusen_. "Oh, hello, Spirit. Long time no see. Is that the boy?" The doctor gestured at Soul, who was being carried by the grease-smeared Sid, with the hand that held his pipe.

Marie nodded. "Yes, that's him."

"Put him on the table in there," Stein ordered, gesturing into the dark room he had just left. His eyes slid to Maka, who shrank back a little. "You're his meister, aren't you?"

The teenager nodded slowly. "Ye-Yes, sir."

"Hmmm . . ." Stein looked at her critically for a moment before blowing another smoke ring. "Marie, hot tea for this one." He nodded at Maka, then vanished into the dark room.

Marie led Maka, Spirit, and Nygus, who had remained silent, over to the kitchen, where she sat them down at the table. Sid joined them several minutes later; Marie placed a mug of tea in front of each of them, along with a bowl of sweets in the middle.

"Don't worry about your weapon, sweetheart," the blonde woman said consolingly as Maka looked as if she were about to cry. "He's in good hands."

The young teenager nodded, taking her tea and sipping it. After a while, she murmured, "Papa . . .?"

Spirit looked down at his daughter. "Yes, Maka?"

"How do you know him . . . the doctor?"

Her father sighed. "Stein was my meister . . . when I was younger."

Maka's green eyes widened. She had heard about the fabled Franken Stein; usually when her father was talking to others and didn't want her to hear. She thought back to what she had seen of the doctor.

He'd seemed alright enough, even though his shirt and pants had been riddled with stitches. His belt had been decorated with gears and held scalpels; a patchwork scarf had wound its way around his neck and his monocle had seemed to be attached to the bolt that went through his head. Not bad, compared to some of the other things Maka had seen, and wished to unsee, several times when the _Shibusen_ had been docked at seedier ports.

"He didn't look that bad, Papa," Maka murmured.

"You have no idea," Spirit replied. "No idea at all . . ."

Marie smiled before throwing an apron over her blouse and corset. She commenced to bustle around the kitchen, obviously beginning a meal. Delicious smells wafted through the air; before long, Marie slid a bowl full of steaming gnocchi covered with a creamy sauce in front of Maka.

At the teenager's questioning glance, the woman smiled and said, "Eat up, sweetheart. Food makes things like this easier, and you look hungry. I'll get the rest of you a bowl as well." She set similar bowls of gnocchi in front of Spirit, Sid, and Nygus, then fixed one for herself.

About half an hour later, Stein emerged from the dark room, wiping his hands on an already bloodstained rag. His light green eyes met Maka's anxious emerald ones and he said, "Your weapon will be fine."

Maka looked ready to collapse from relief. "Really?"

"See, what did I tell you?" Marie asked as she stood and went to retrieve a mug of coffee for her meister.

"Thank you so much!" Maka gushed, life brought back into her eyes.

Stein shrugged and accepted the coffee his weapon gave him. "It's my job."

Spirit stood, looking anxious to leave. "When will Soul be ready to come back to the ship?"

The doctor took a lazy drag from his pipe before answering. "He'll need to stay here a few more days. After that, he'll be able to return to the ship, but he shouldn't get into anything strenuous for several weeks. Three at the most."

"You've . . . gotta be kidding me . . ." Everyone turned to see Soul, whose chest was bare, the gash stapled together, leaning heavily on the door frame. "Not cool."

"Soul!" Maka's expression grew worried again.

Stein frowned. "Go and lie back down. You're not ready to be moving yet."

"Bull . . . shit," Soul ground out. "I'm . . . perfectly fine."

"You should listen to him," Maka said quietly.

"I'm not listenin' to some Frankenstein freak," Soul growled.

The object of Soul's deprecating words raised a silver eyebrow. Stein set his mug, now almost empty, down on the counter and crossed the room to where Soul stood. Two pale fingers touched Soul's jugular vein and the teenager collapsed moments later.

Stein supported Soul's limp form as Maka stood, chair clattering backwards as she exclaimed, "What'd you do to him?!"

"He's only unconscious. Maybe now he won't move." The doctor picked the teenager up and carried him back into the room from whence he had emerged.

When Stein returned, Maka repeated, "What'd you do to him?"

Stein sighed. "I overrode his soul wavelength with mine. Doing so causes paralysis and unconsciousness. He'll be fine in a little while."

"Well, that's all fine and dandy," Spirit said from where he was standing. "We'll be leaving now. I trust you won't dissect him in his sleep, Stein."

The doctor laughed and plucked a scalpel from his belt. Twirling it, he said, "No promises."

"He won't," Marie assured Maka, who looked horrified. "I'll make sure of it."

"O-Okay," the teenager said, eyeing Stein uneasily as Sid and Nygus stood. Her father practically dragged her from the house.

"Papa," Maka muttered after the four had been walking for a while, "is that what you were talking about?"

Blue eyes looked down at her and Spirit sighed. "Yes, Maka. That's what I was talking about."

* * *

**A/N: **Yay for all of my favorite good guys being in one chapter! BJ, Spirit, Stein, and Marie, yaaaay~!

Designs are on my DA which is ToastWeaselofDOOM. ;D Please tell me what you think! See you next chapter!


	3. Chapter 3

_**A Steampunk/Soul Eater crossover.**_

**A/N:** Next chapter! Yay! Thanks for all the positive reviews I got for this, I hope you enjoy the second chapter as much as the first!

Metal Soul's Insanity (c) ToastWeaselofDOOM  
Crossposted on deviantart.  
Beta'd by Desert(dot)Moon!

* * *

Chapter 3

Soul stretched his arms as the bandages around his chest were unwrapped, but stopped when his wound ached. Stein, who was collecting the used bandages, smirked.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," the doctor said as he dumped the used bandages into a bucket of water. "Not unless you want your wound to reopen."

Soul scowled. "Whatever."

The door the room opened and Maka peeked in. "Um, Mister Stein—oh." A blush spread across her cheeks and she hurriedly stuttered, "S-sorry, I'll wait until you're done." The door closed and Stein rolled his eyes. Teenagers.

The silver-haired doctor handed Soul a roll of clean bandages. "I suspect, now that you are able to, that you will want to wrap your chest yourself. I'll go see what your meister wanted." Soul nodded and began to unroll the bandages as Stein left him alone.

Maka was talking with Marie in the kitchen. The doctor's weapon was cooking and smiling as she talked to the young meister. Stein cleared his throat and said, "Miss Albarn, you needed me?"

Maka turned. "Actually, Captain Shinigami wants to talk to you. You and Miss Marie."

Stein raised a silver eyebrow. "Really now? About what?"

The young teenager shrugged. "I don't know, Kidd didn't say when he told me to inform you. All I know is that Captain Shinigami expressed an interest in seeing you."

The older meister frowned slightly. "Curious . . ."

"What do you think, Stein?" Marie asked, whipping her hands on her apron. "Should we go see him?"

"It's been a while since I've seen the captain of the _Shibusen_," Stein said, a curious look spreading over his face. "Why not?"

* * *

"Stein~! Long time no see!"

Stein nodded, tipping his top hat politely. "Captain Shinigami."

The captain of the _Shibusen_ was an oddity. He didn't seem to be human at all, but that was because he wasn't. He was the God of Death, the Grim Reaper. His body was made up of a full metal breastplate, rather like a suit of armor. His chest-area attached to smaller pieces through a series of gears and rivets which slowly tapered down to a single wheel supporting his entire structure. A jaggedly-cut black cape hung from his shoulders, the tip of which barely touched the floor.

The Death God had no visible face; only a mask shaped like a skull. The rest of his head was surrounded with black fabric that rose to form several vertical squiggles. Goggles adorned with gears strapped over the eyeholes, making his eyes impossible to see, and steam drifted from the top of his head-squiggle, occasionally increasing with a quick burst.

However, Shinigami did not appear frightening; quite the opposite. His skull mask was shaped in a comical way and he bounced as he spoke. His voice was cheerful, and he clapped his giant hands together when he spoke, rather like a small child.

"And who's this lovely woman who you've got with you, Stein? I don't recall seeing her before~!"

Marie blushed good naturedly at Shinigami's praise. "My name is Marie Mjolnir. I'm Stein's weapon partner."

"Oh ho, Stein, you've taken a new weapon since I've seen you last!" Shinigami bounced, looking excited. "What form you do take, m'dear?"

"A hammer, sir."

Shinigami's mask seemed to light up. "A hammer? Really? Mind showing me?"

Marie exchanged glances with Stein. The doctor sighed and extended his arm like a gentleman. His weapon set her arm on his and transformed in a flash. Stein's pale fingers wrapped around the demon hammer's handle as three black tendrils extended from the butt of the handle.

Marie's weapon form was jet black, decorated with gold-colored, lightning-shaped markings upon each end of the hammer's head; they were similar to the marking that adorned her eyepatch in her human form. Other gold markings adorned the hammer elsewhere, and her handle was wrapped with white cloth.

"Oooh, very good, very good~!" Shinigami clapped his great hands. "Is there any other techniques you can perform?"

Stein closed his eyes before saying, "Marie, Izuna."

"Of course." The black tendrils that had extended from the hammer's handle grew longer and began to wind their way up Stein's forearm as Marie's form extended in length to resemble a tonfa. The black tendrils completely enveloped Stein's wrist and the doctor took a step forward. He disappeared from view for several seconds before appearing across the room. Another step and he stood in front of Shinigami and another brought him back to where he had been standing. As Shinigami admired them, Marie transformed back and brushed imaginary dust from her black and gold pants.

"Very good, very good!" Shinigami praised. "I can see you are both very talented, Stein no less then when I met him last! You are a Death Scythe, are you not, Miss Mjolnir?"

Marie nodded. "Sure am."

"Aah, I had heard rumors there was a Death Scythe in Oceania! Leave it to Stein to pair with them! Tell me, was it Stein who made you?"

The blonde shook her head. "No, sir. I met Stein only recently."

"I see, I see! Very well! I now would like to turn our conversation to why I invited you here in the first place!"

"Yes, please do explain," Stein said, reaching into his embroidered jacket and pulling out his pipe. He inserted a cigarette into the end before lighting it with a match and taking a deep pull from it. Marie shot him a disapproving look, which he ignored.

"I called you two here to request that you join my crew." Stein raised an eyebrow and blew out a stream of smoke.

"And why should we do that?" the doctor asked. "What is so beneficial of us joining your crew?"

"Adventure, money, peace. It's what we strive for!" Shinigami said after a moment. "We travel the world seeking to destroy the madness that had corrupted the earth. You'd be able to battle strong foes and see new places.

"However, Stein, I mostly ask you to join my crew for the simple reason you are doctor. An excellent and gifted doctor. Had it not been for you, young Mister Evans would have certainly died. We need such skills aboard the _Shibusen._ Miss Mjolnir, the very fact you are a Death Scythe makes you more then welcome aboard my vessel."

Stein frowned while Marie looked enchanted. "Are you asking us to decide now?"

Shinigami shook his head. "No, no, of course not! The _Shibusen_ leaves port on Friday—you have four days to decide whether to join us or not."

"I see." The doctor took another pull from his pipe and exhaled the acrid smoke. "Then we will inform you of our verdict sometime within these next four days."

Shinigami bounced. "Very well! I eagerly await your decision!"

Stein nodded tersely and turned. "Marie, let's go." His weapon nodded and followed her meister from the bridge, off the airship, and back to his home.

* * *

—**Four Days Later—**

The _Shibusen_ was busy. Supplies were being moved on and the deck was a hub of activity as crew members carried boxes and crates below. In the middle of it all stood the ship's captain, Shinigami, directing people with his large hands and even larger voice. Something on the side of the deck caught his eye and he bounced excitedly.

"Stein, Miss Mjolnir! Welcome, welcome!"

"Captain Shinigami." Stein nodded curtly while Marie smiled happily and waved.

"Have you made your decision?" The Death God asked.

"We have." The doctor's face gave away nothing, no emotions, no hints.

"Oho~!" Shinigami bounced. "And what is it?"

Stein let a large bag ridded with stitches fall from his hands to the wooden deck with a loud "'thump'. "Where will we be sleeping?"

The Captain of the _Shibusen _seemed to glow. "Welcome to the crew!"


End file.
